Winter Man

Winter Man

The Biggest Celebration Ever

On the coldest, darkest night of the year, let us come together and celebrate the winter solstice and leave behind the past year. Write down your fears, gripes and grievances – then offer them to the fire and watch them burn!

Midwinter celebrations of this kind have been practised from time immemorial. There is great doubt about how our local celebration arrived on the Tableland. Some believe it was brought here by earlier settlers who fled persecution in Europe. It is thought that they celebrated secretly for many generations until the turn of the millennium when local prejudice against Druidry had largely subsided. The first recorded reference to Winter Man is in Ye Old Tableland Talk dated June 2007. By this time the way of the Druid had been fully embraced by the local community and the Winter Man has been celebrated publicly every year since. Together we can celebrate the annual cycle and join with a ‘Petition to the old Gods for the returning of the light’. With a clear sky, this year’s Winter Man fire will be visible from the Hubble Space Telescope as it passes through Andromeda before transiting Mercury at 6:19 on Sunday morning. Many truckloads of light flammable material will be available to make this dream a reality. Be assured that many local CFA members will be present to keep things under control. The local Ovates have declared this year’s auspicious day to be Saturday 18th June.

Our Bards have agreed that the ley lines have once again crossed at Bullagreen, 1948 Strathbogie Road, Strathbogie.

Winter Man building begins at 2pm for those seeking initiation.

Celebrations commence at sunset (5:08pm).

Bring your own food, drink, warm clothes and written grievances.

Acknowledgements Bogieweb extends our thanks to Penny Long for the Winter Man Photo and to Phil Squires for video footage of previous Winter Man celebrations.